Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1887-03-24
HABITS OF SWoRDFISHES.

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HABITS OF SWORoFISHES.
How They "sp-ar" the fo'toms o,shp''
When Anyry-Old Beiiefs Abodt Th"h.
Among the objects frequently to be
observed in museums Of natural history
the ,imbers Of ships pierced wi h sword
fishes arc by no means uncommon.
Ordinarily speaking. and Ms tar as
naturalist opinions 60, the swordfish
appears 10 be peaccable enough.
When. however. the fi,h is irri' ated or
enragcd its disposition because out
rageonsly fierce. Presumably 1t is then
that il vents its temper on the uii-
offending timbcrs Of ships. A certain
schooner. named the fo'unteer, hailing
from the port of Gloucester. Mss.
found itself in the the neighborhood oil
B,ck Island. About four o'clock on
that day. the vessel rceled from sud-
den shock, which at first suggested the
possibility of having struck some
hidden reef. The weather was so
fine that the Volunteer was well
nigh bccalmcd, and fortunately
captain and crew had plenty
of leisure and opportunity to take
things calmly in face of tho mysterious
danger which threatened theni. A
glance over the side of the vessel
surliccd to 'cvcal the cause OF the
shock. A swordiish Of large size was
seen in the net Of clGrging the ship
once again. Ii rctrcated, and then
ru,hing through the water renewed its
as.lult with great vigor A boat was
quickly manned, and harpooncr duly
dispatched the assailant, which was
found to weigh three hundred pounds.
In due time the Volunteer was dockod
Mt Gloucester. when an inspection was
made of the vessels keel. 1t was then
found that about six feet from
the vessels stem. near the top
Of the keel. the sword had
entered the wood. and had actually
br, ken four times rs the assault Of the
fish was renewed. Four pieces OF the
weapon were found embedded in the
keel. The fish had thus used It's dam
aged sword again and again In the
course Of its attack, and. obli,ious OF
hurt and pain. had sacrificed itself In
the pursuit Of an utterly unjustiiable
rage.
Tales Of its combats with whales and
porpoiscs figure in natural history
The swordiish charges the great sea
mammals and spears them with a'
deadly u thrust MS ever harpooncr gave
The great nnrwhal enjoys the rcpu'
tation ofposscssing the longest tooth in
the world. since this organ grows to
form twisted ivory pole. which may
occasionally attain length OF nine ol
ten feet. Thus armed the animal
would seem to pr seat much more
formidable frpnt than the sword.iisl
it, H. Bat 10y nj, accounts. The sea
unicorn is a relatively quiet and pcacca'
bic creature. bv no means given
To attacking any thilg or any
body. save perchancc. rs Dir
win tells Us, to engage in occasional
combat. with It's own rivals and will
its own kith and kin. As far rs our In
formation extends. we fail to discover
any instance of q narwhal using hi
long tooth to probe the timbers of
ship. In oldcn times, the tooth wa
much valued rs u remedy against poi'
OF; u virtue. by the way. when 'h'
horn Of the mythical land-unicorn WA
likewise believed to possess.
Ballin. of Ballin's Bay fame. wrote o
this animal. that "it being a great fish
having long horn or bone growing
forth Of its forehead or nostril. such u
Sir Marin Frobishcr in his second voy
are found one, in diverse places we saw
them. which IL the horne be of any goo'
value. no doub, that many OF them ma.
be killed" In Hikluyt's "Travels'
Frobisher himself describing the mar
whal. speaks of 1t rs having ''in hi
nose horne strcisht and torquet
of length two yards lackin'
two ynches." He then proceeds 4
test his presumably medicinal powers
"Being broken in the top, here W
might perceive it hollow, into wliic
some of our sailors putting spiders
they presently died" Wisely, pei
haps, for the credit Of his own narra
tive, SIR Martin adds that he "saw ne
the tarill hereof. but 1t was reporte
unto me of truth; by the virtu
whereof we supposed IL to be the sc
unicorna.
This was rather curious fashion
Judging the character Of IN animal b
The effects Of his horns upon innoccr
spiders, and the tale smacks somewhi
OF the Olans Magnus type after oil
The sword.iish and the narwhal. how
ever, are well known to modcr
zoo ologists, and the former must }
added to the list Of occasional peri
which threaten the welfare OF tho'
who travel by sea.-London Dali
Eetos